Expect the Unexpected
by ohmyhotch
Summary: The Malfoys attend the funeral of Bellatrix Lestrange. It turns out that you never know what to expect from the Black family. One-Shot; but may sprout into something bigger.


**Honestly, this was just a little idea that was totally bothering me. I don't know if it's any good or not, and it's definitely a new thing for me... Please let me know what you think! :) **

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**Narcissa Malfoy POV**

I sighed as I contemplated what another day meant. Another funeral. Today, though, was the biggest funeral. Well, the biggest funeral for me, anyway. Today, you see, was the funeral of Bellatrix Lestrange, my eldest, and as far as I was concerned, _only_ sister.

If you were to ask almost any passing witch or wizard you might see in Diagon Alley, or some other very busy wizarding place, they'd say Bellatrix had been a cruel, heartless woman, driven by pure insanity. I couldn't deny that my sister was insane... she'd never been particularly normal. Even for a Black, bred into being completely obessesed with the fact that the Wizarding World was contaminated with those blasted muggle-borns and half-bloods, Bellatrix was always a bit on the odd side. She took to everything she had to do with a determination that had often frightened me a bit. This had escalated after her years spent in Azkaban, and when I had seen my sister for the first time after nearly fifteen years, I hadn't been entirely sure it had been Bella, but surely enough, it was her. One thing I couldn't, and still cannot, stand in the least, though, was when all those half-bloods and Mudbloods called my sister cruel and heartless. They just had no right, none at all. None of them came close to knowing her as well as I did. None of them really knew her at all.

And so I found myself sitting in front of the vanity in my bedroom, staring at my reflection in the mirror, wondering how in the world I was going to make myself even anywhere near presentable for the funeral of the last Black family member. Of course there was still Andromeda, but I hadn't seen her since she'd run off at barely eighteen with that nasty mudblood, Ted Tonks, and she had been disowned, and thus was no longer a member of the family.

"Mum?" I heard Draco's voice carry in from the hallway, and I turned and gave my son the best attempt at a smile I could manage.

"Yes, Draco?" I asked, my voice sounding hoarse and scratchy to my own ears, I could only imagine how it sounded to others, and shook my head..

"Father would like to know how much longer you'll be, he says we need to be going soon," the boy said entering the room, his voice small, as it so often had been since the war had ended, not only was it small, it sounded as though he were a million miles away. _I hope wherever he is better place than here I_ thought, before looking to my 17 year old son.

"I'm nearly ready now," I told him, the false smile lingering on my face for a moment, before collapsing into the same expression –that was somewhere between distressed and in a severe amount of pain– that it had held for the past few weeks.

"Alright," Draco nodded, and turned to go.

"Would you like to stay a moment, until I am finished?" I asked, knowing that my husband had become very withdrawn since everything had been ripped out from under us once again. He'd lost so many friends between the two wars, no one was blaming him. I knew that Draco found it entirely uncomfortable to be in the same room as him with the unmistakable feel of tension, even I felt it whenever I tried to speak to Lucius. All the same, I understood. Lucius was having as hard of a time as I was, if not a harder one, dealing with the sudden change of... everything. The entire world we lived in had been torn out from under us.

Draco nodded, and stood just inside the door, waiting. I quickly finished preparing myself and stood up. I quickly walked to stand by my son, who gave me a small smile and walked slowly from the room. I thought for a moment whilst looking around the room, and then followed him, deciding it really wouldn't matter if I'd forgotten something, as long as I had my wand, which I could feel in the pocket of my black dress robes.

"Are we ready to go, then?" I heard Lucius ask quietly as she entered the recently re-constructed entrance hall to our large home.

"I suppose we are, I'm sorry to have taken so long," I replied, nodding. I walked to the coat closet and grabbed one of the warmer traveling cloaks I owned, I draped it over my arm before walking to the door. Lucius pulled it open, and nodded to me as I stepped out onto the stone steps that led up to the manor. I stayed under the overhang when I noticed the slow, heavy rain falling.

_Fitting_ I thought, sighing, as I took in the depressing weather. It was ironic how the entire tone of the day, weather and all, seemed to fit my mood perfectly.

"Will we be Apparating?" Draco asked as he stepped outside.

"Yes," Lucius nodded, his voice still quiet, as he joined the two of us, and closed the door behind him. "We'll be traveling to the Black Family Manor, obviously," he said, mostly to himself. "I suppose it belongs to you now, Cissa, being the final living member of the Black family,"

"You're right, I suppose," I nodded, feeling the sting of his words. The final living Black. Obviously, I had realized this but now all I could seem to do was think about all I had lost, and how badly that loss hurt. It was a struggle to keep the bitterness from my voice, but it wasn't Lucius's fault. He'd only spoken his mind, there was nothing wrong with that.

I took a deep, shaky breath and took Lucius's arm as he held it out to me. Draco took his other arm and I almost immediately felt the familiar tugging sensation of Apparation. As soon as my feet were once again on solid ground, I looked up at the all to familiar Black Manor house that I'd grown up in, I felt a sweeping wave of nostalgia, and overwhelming sadness at the sight of the old home.

Draco let go of Lucius's arm and began walking up the path to the home. I stood, waiting for my husband to follow him, but he didn't. Instead, he took the cloak that was still draped over my arm. I stared up at him for a long second before he walked behind me and draped the warm cloak over my shoulders and clipped the clasp in the front, managing to protect my dress robes from the drizzling rain. I pulled the hood up to protect my hair, and face.

"Cissa?" he asked, moving to stand in front of me. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle this?" he continued. "Because if you can't I'm sure everyone will understand,"

I looked up into his eyes, feeling a flash of rage that I could barely keep contained, but that died down when I saw the true concern mirrored in his eyes. They seemed to have life in the for the first time since the final battle had ended, and our family had been pardoned of all charges. "I have to... even Bella, as unstable... and truly sick as she was. Sh-she was my sister Lucius, my big sister. She deserves someone to care," I stated, emotion filling my voice, finally manifesting itself in a way others could detect, and honestly, it bothered me. Lucius nodded, and we walked inside.

The inside hadn't changed much, other than the fact that the entire house seemed so much darker. Since Bella had been living here, though, I wasn't too shocked. My sister had always had an obsession with the Dark Arts, I had found them interesting, but it had never gotten to the point that it had with Bella.

"Hello Mr Malfoy, Mrs Malfoy," a man greeted as I looked over the room. I drew my attention back to the people in the room.

"Hello, Minister," Lucius greeted Kingsley Shacklebolt, the acting Minster for Magic, and it was likely he would stay Minister. I simply nodded in acknowledgment, and pushed the hood of my cloak down, we were inside now, and it was no longer needed.

"I just saw Draco with the Nott boy, sitting in the next room," he informed the two of us. "I believe that there were two others with him,"

Lucius nodded, and the two of us walked into the parlor of the home, and sat down, waiting for the funeral to begin. It didn't take too long, once the few who were attending sat down (I noted bitterly that many in attendance were members of the Order of the Phoenix, probably celebrating). I sat silently throughout the services, and went up to say a few words when asked.

Before long the entire group had moved outside to the Black family crypt which was located on the grounds of the large home. The rain had stopped, which I was grateful for. I pulled my hood up once again to try and fight against the cold. I felt like we stood there for an eternity. In small groups, people began to leave. I thought that Draco, Lucius, and myself were the only attendees left, and I sighed, deciding we needed to go home. I knew Draco was restless and didn't want to stay much longer in the cold, I turned to speak to Lucius, and noticed a hooded figure still standing a few meters away from my small family.

"Would you like me to ask whoever that is to leave, Cissa?" Lucius asked, spotting the stranger at the same time I did. "So we may head home..."

I looked over at the stranger again after looking at Lucius while he'd spoken. "Y-yes, I think so," I nodded. He smiled at me, then turned and walked over to the mysterious guest. Whoever it was kept their head forward while he spoke, and after a moment Lucius came back, immediately followed by the stranger. I attempted to see their face, but they kept their head down, and their face was totally concealed by the shadow of the hood.

"Who are you?" I asked, when I noticed the person was simply standing there, head down.

I saw the mouth of the stranger split into a smile, and lift their head, causing the hood to fall back. I took in a sharp breath, gasping as I realized who it was.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, drawing my wand. "What gives you any right to be here?"

"She was my sister too, Cissy," Andromeda replied calmly, keeping her eyes locked on mine. "I felt compelled to come after I saw you at... at Nymphadora and Remus's funeral," she said quietly. "And yes, I did see you," she added.

I closed my eyes, to hold back tears. "I felt responsible, w-with Bella gone... I know it was her, she was boasting about it..." I whispered. "But Bella _hated_ you for what you did, 'Meda," I told her, opening my eyes again. "She wouldn't allow anyone to speak your name, and was very fond of using the Cruciatus Curse on whoever dared," I explained. "It didn't take long to learn not to speak of you, and... I haven't seen you since I was _sixteen_ years old, Andromeda. Honestly..." I shook my head, unable to say more.

"Cissa, she deserves no explanation," Lucius muttered, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shook it off and took a step towards my sister.

"Honestly 'Meda," I continued. "I spent the two years until I was married, wondering if you were going to show up at the doorstep saying you'd been kidding all along, and that you'd simply moved out, and were just playing some absurd practical joke,"

"It wasn't a joke, Narcissa," she shook her head, smiling.

"I realized that as soon as you sent the letter saying you had a daughter," I sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't live up to the family's expectations of me," Andromeda shrugged. "I've never regretted it, except for never seeing you until now. You're just as beautiful as you were at sixteen," she smiled.

"You look... well, not the best I've seen you," I admitted.

"I lost my daughter, husband, son-in-law and sister in this war," she said, her smile dissolving into a frown. "And I'm honestly not sure I'm up to the challenge of raising another child,"

"Another child?" I asked, noticing for the first time the bundle of blankets in her arms.

"My grandson..." Andromeda explained. "With both his parents gone it's up to me to raise him, luckily though, Dora and Remus picked godparents, so I won't be completely alone,"

"Small blessings," I nodded, feeling the bitterness and anger gone... completely gone.

"Cissa? Perhaps your sister would like to come over for tea later... I fear it's getting rather late, and you've had a very challenging day," Lucius muttered, quietly.

"Yes, I think that's a wonderful idea, darling," I agreed. "Perhaps Friday?" I suggested, keeping my eyes on 'Meda.

"Friday sounds wonderful," Andromeda nodded, with a small smile returning to her face.

"Alright, we'll see you then," Lucius nodded, and placed his hand on my shoulder, I knew we were ready to leave now.

"It was good to see you again, 'Meda," I told her, honestly.

"It was good to see you too, Cissy," she smiled, and waved. The next thing I knew we were home again, standing on the front steps like we had been this morning.

"I suppose even the worst of days can have a happy ending, can't they?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know why you invited that woman over, Dad," Draco muttered, and I realized he'd never met Andromeda, and we'd never mentioned her.

"Because, she has no one else, Draco." I told him, frowning. "I realize you don't know who that was," I continued, as we stepped inside the house, and the three of us made our way to the dining room, this was one occasion that I was exceptionally grateful we had house elves. "That woman was my sister," I said, and sat down.

"I thought Aunt Bella was your only sister," Draco shook his head, sitting on the other side of the table.

"That's because until today, I did only have Bella..." I said quietly. "But Andromeda was disowned when I was sixteen..." I started, and proceeded to tell him the entire story.

"So, you see Draco. You never know what to expect. Remember that. Always."


End file.
